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SCC releases decision on cyberbullying & the open court principle

The Supreme Court of Canada ("SCC") released a decision today permitting a victim of cyberbullying to anonymously pursue legal action seeking the identity of the creator of a fake Facebook profile that was made using her picture and other personal information. The SCC stated that:

"If we value the right of children to protect themselves from bullying, cyber or otherwise, if common sense and the evidence persuade us that young victims of sexualized bullying are particularly vulnerable to the harms of revictimization upon publication, and if we accept that the right to protection will disappear for most children without the further protection of anonymity, we are compellingly drawn in this case to allowing [the] anonymous legal pursuit of the identity of her cyberbully."

The victim also sought a publication ban on the content of the profile. Based on the fact that the girl's identity would be protected through her ability to proceed anonymously, the publication ban on the non-identifiable content of the fake Facebook profile was not allowed.

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